Thursday, September 19, 2013

BWL Column: Federal funds will have local impact for complete streets

Lee
County bicycling has hit the big time. Our community went after a major
government grant to improve our growing cycling and walking
infrastructure, and that quest paid off with $10.5 million.

But what does that mean for you, the average cyclist or walker?
• Improvement in the University Loop, fixing gaps and connecting FGCU into the cycling infrastructure.•
Expansion of the Tour de Parks route to include both baseball stadiums
— the Twins’ Hammond Stadium and the Red Sox’s JetBlue home — to a
route that already links Lakes Park to the Nature Center and the Six
Mile Slough.• Filling in some serious gaps to cycling infrastructure that ties the University Loop into Bonita Springs and Collier County.

Most
important, winning this grant shines a spotlight on the viability of
walking, biking and transit as practical transportation alternatives,
and brings national attention to the county’s laudable and considerable
efforts to improve its bicycling network over the past few years.

Good
bike/walk infrastructure benefits residents and visitors alike, giving
people who live here access to safe recreation and alternate
transportation choices, while giving people who visit our area another
good reason to come here vs. somewhere else. (If you’re used to making
biking or walking a part of your vacation, good facilities are a magnet
to visitors.)

But
safety (an essential component of “complete streets” policies) can be
the real payoff in grants such as this. Making Lee’s streets safer for
bikers and walkers is crucial, given our poor record of injuries and
deaths. Better infrastructure makes it better for current bikers and
walkers, while safer routes and more awareness invites those sitting on
the sidelines with safety concerns to get on their bicycles or lace up
their walking shoes.

Another
plus: These grants are highly competitive, and the communities that win
them must demonstrate their commitment to these kinds of improvements
and to working together across jurisdictions, agencies and organizations
(public and private) to get changes done. It’s a tangible way to show
that working together brings results.

This
federal support provides $4 for every dollar of local funding already
on the books, making your local tax dollars go further while bringing
some of your federal tax dollars back home. That hasn’t always happened
in Lee County, so we need to celebrate a little when it does.

Perhaps
the best summary was this: “Lee County’s Complete Streets initiative
will complete a safe, integrated bike and pedestrian network, increasing
economic activity for local businesses,” said U.S. Department of
Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx at the grant announcement Sept. 5.
“It’s investment in safety, it’s investment in community, it’s
investment in mobility and it’s investment in transportation choice.”

More information
• Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery grant: Lee County Complete Streets Initiative
• Grantee: Lee County Metropolitan Planning Organization
• Grant amount: $10.5 million, along with a $2.7 million local match, for total project costs of $13.2 million
• Timing: Projects to be constructed starting a year from now, with completion of all projects by September 2016.
• Background: http://bikewalklee.blogspot.com/2013/09/bikewalklee-elated-by-usdot-tiger-105.html

— BikeWalkLee is a community coalition raising public
awareness and advocating for complete streets in Lee County—streets that
are designed, built, operated and maintained for safe and convenient
travel for all users. Information, statistics and background online at
BikeWalkLee.org.

About BikeWalkLee Blog

This is the official Blog for BikeWalkLee.org. BikeWalkLee is a community coalition raising public awareness and advocating for complete streets in Lee County -- streets that are designed, built, operated and maintained for safe and convenient travel for all users: pedestrians, bicyclists, motorists, and transit riders of all ages and abilities.